The Stewardess: A Very Upsetting Birthday
by ko-writes
Summary: Flora has turned thirty! She spent the day with her cousin, is out with MJN for drinks and has some great presents! Amazing birthday, right? Not for long... Past abusive relationship. Past Sebastian Moran/Original Female character, Martin Crieff/Original Female Character, Sebastian Moran/Jim Moriarty.
1. Chapter 1

Flora and the rest of MJN had gone out for drinks, seeing as today was her thirtieth birthday. She had already seen Mycroft, who had given her a pair of Tiffany's earrings; white pearls dangling from real diamonds arranged in the shape of a flower. Usually she would have protested the cost, but Mycroft hadn't bothered her about accepting his offer of an allowance that much, or bought her overly expensive things for her new, modest apartment; so she let him.

Flora was moving on with a new chapter in her life. Gone was the bratty, spoiled rebel child she had been and now she was rather like Mycroft herself. She was more refined, sophisticated; but she kept the flirty, strong edge to her personality that the British Government kept hidden from his almost all the time. She still had her style though and, sophisticated as she may be now, she still wasn't quite ready to leave he rebel stage completely.

She, Martin, Arthur, Douglas and Carolyn were sitting in a booth at the nicest pub in Fitton. Martin was savouring a rather nice red wine, recomended by the birthday girl and paid for, like all their drinks that night, curtosy of Mycroft; Douglas had apple juice in a whiskey glass, admitting to Flora that he didn't drink anymore; Arthur gulped down peach juice after Martin, Douglas and Carolyn refused him peach schnapps; Carolyn sipped at a gin and tonic; and Flora had a 'Sex On The Beach' cocktail which was rather good.

Douglas smiled and handed Flora his present first, "Happy Birthday, my dear; you don't look a day over twenty."

"Liar," Flora smirked, slipping her long, delicate fingers under the tape to remove it. She unfolded the red paper of the small gift to reveal a blue mug, with 'Sky-Goddess in training' painted on the side in white, curved letters. She laughed, "Thank you, Douglas."

Douglas smiled impishly back at her.

It had been a surprise to see Flora in casual clothes like these at first, seeing as he had only seen her in a few outfits before and they were quite toned down. Now Flora was going out, she was wearing something rather unexpected; a short, faux leather skirt with black thigh highs and black military boots as well as a Sex Pistols t-shirt from the nineties. Her eye makeup was smokey and her lips painted a dark red - she looked _hot_. But, he wouldn't do anything; he knew what was going on between the stewardess and captain and wasn't about to get in the way of it.

"Flora! This is from me," Arthur beamed, passing her a gift bag.

Flora looked inside cautiously, not knowing what to expect from Arthur. Her smile widened, however, as she pulled out some of the bag's random contents; a mood ring, a black obsidian stone braclet, some cinnamon insense and a small, stuffed polar bear. "Arthur, this is brilliant!" Flora enthused, slipping on the ring and bracelet.

"I knew you'd like it! Mum said she wasn't sure, but you love those little ethnic shops abroad, so I got some stuff - and a polar bear because they're brilliant!" Arthur explained.

"I was going to split Arthur's gift with you," Carolyn admitted, "But seeing you like the Sex Pistols; I thought I'd give you something different..."

Carolyn handed Flora the present and the stewardess opened it. Flora gasped, "Is... Is this a 1973 original The Who t-shirt _sighed by the band_?!"

"What?!" Martin exclaimed, darting to Flora's side to examine the t-shirt.

"It was a great night," Carolyn smiled, cast into a rare nostaga, "The drinks flowing, people dancing; I got to go backstage afterwards and met them. There was a few things I'd rather not tell you with my son here, mainly about what happened behind the closed door; but it was... Far out..."

"Wow," Flora breathed, "Are... are you sure? I mean... It's yours -"

"Flora, it's only going to collect dust if I keep it and you obviously love it," Carolyn stated.

"Thank you Carolyn, thank you!" Flora went to Carolyn's side and gave her a quick hug.

"I think that was enough sentiment to last for a while," Carolyn informed.

"And the Alpha dog is back," Douglas commented, recieving a light-hearted glare from Carolyn.

"H-here we are Flora," Martin stuttered, pushing a small, perfectly wrapped present towards her.

When Flora saw what it was, it felt like she had stopped breathing. She thumbed the pearl necklace carefully, "Martin... I don't think I can accept this -"

"No, please Flora; I think it'd look lovely on you. Allow me..." Martin took the pearl necklace from Flora and drapped it around her neck, fastening it at the back; calloused fingers brushing the skin on the back of her neck. Flora had to concentrate rather hard to not let her eyelashes flutter close and lean into Martin's lithe muscled form.

Douglas, Carolyn and Arthur were staring at her and Martin as the captain finished doing up the clasp. "What?" Flora asked, trying to keep the boldness in her voice but sounding faint even to herself.

"Nothing," Douglas waved away, Carolyn and Arthur consentrating hard on the drinks in their hands, "Can I have a look at that necklace?"

"Uh... Sure," Flora consented and Douglas slid in next to her, taking the pears in hand.

After a moment of deliberation and close examination, his eyes widened, almost comically so. "These are real..." He whispered, "Martin, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Douglas dragged Martin away from the table and to the men's bathroom as Flora looked on, confused but realising she probably wouldn't get any answers before her... trip...


	2. Chapter 2

"Martin, what the _hell_ are you doing?" Douglas demanded after closing the door to the bathroom. The tiles were brilliantly white, cleaned regularly, and the florescent light illuminating them made Martin's eyes hurt.

"What are you talking about?" Martin asked, knowing exactly what Douglas was referring to.

"The fact you gave Flora a _real pearl necklace_!" Douglas yelled, "You live in an attic, you live on toast and pasta, you don't get _paid_ -"

"Thank you for the motivational speech, Douglas."

"Martin, have you gone insane!? God knows Flora's lovely and deserves the best; but, Martin, she feels guilty about accepting them and she would completely refuse if she knew of your financial situation - she would give you _her_ pay, too! If you want to go out with her, _ask her out_ ; it's not difficult!" Douglas was having enough of this. It was bad enough that you could cut the sexual, sensual and romantic tensions between those two with a knife; Martin was now giving her expensive gifts that he couldn't afford. Douglas Richardson was a selfish man at times and he would rip his own heart out of his chest and _give it_ to Flora if it meant she'd look at him like she did Martin; but he was also a romantic man and decent under it all, far be it from him to stand in the way of love.

"It's a good job she doesn't know then, isn't it? And I haven't gone insane Douglas. And - and, if your suggesting I want to ask her out -"

"Martin, shut the fuck up! Listen to me, and listen closely; you two have been dancing around each other almost since the day you met. The ground crew are even making bets on you! Now, stop acting like some Hugh Grant character and just ask her on a date!" Douglas exclaimed.

"You don't know anything about this mess, First Officer _Casanova_! To her, at _best_ , I'm a little fuck boy she can mess around with! You know what happened in Japan? We had sex! That's right, she let me push her against the door of my hotel room and kiss and bite her neck while I got the door unlocked, she let me throw her down on the bed and straddle her thighs, she let me touch her, she let me tear off her blouse like some _animal_ , she whispered and moaned my name and _French_ in my ear, she wore gold and navy lingerie with stockings and bloody garters! And I fucked her into the mattress, thinking it would last. But, of course, like all the amazing things in my life, when I woke up, she was gone. Nothing left but her heat and a faint wisp of her perfume. That wouldn't have happened to _you_ ," Martin spat.

Douglas' heart twisted and his gut gave way to a black hole. He knew that Flora and Martin had something; but Martin telling him how he had her and the way she responded... it hurt more than he wanted to think about. "It's true..." Douglas sighed.

"Told you," Martin's voice was grave, not a hint of the smugness that both felt should be there.

"She wouldn't have let _me_ do that to her -"

"Douglas, I don't need your pity; it was alcohol, not anything else..."

"Martin, if Flora asked me, I would do, or let her do, anything she wanted to. I... I do have feelings for her, I admit that, but I am _never_ going to act on them. You two... You're meant to be. Flora is meant to be with you and you are meant to be with her. Time was, I'd have taken her from you; but I like to think I've moved on from that booze soaked chapter of my life. Martin, you need to tell her; not give her gifts that cost you your rent and food."

"... You really believe that, don't you?" Marin asked.

"I do."

"Shame your wrong; it would have been nice if you could be right about this, like everything else; but... everyone's wrong about something at some point," Martin smiled sadly and went to return to the rest of MJN.

"Martin, I _am_ right -!"

"Please Douglas, you're starting to sound like a Tumblr fangirl."

Martin left the room.

Douglas stood there in shock. He wasn't anything like a fangirl, he just saw what was obviously _there_!"


End file.
